TURBO, Buy a Kit or Build Your Own?
#1
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alright, well. i essentially have no mechanical knowledge of turbo's or supercharges. I like to do all the work for my car, but when it comes to this area, my opinion has always been "buy a kit and pay some1 to install/tune it"
however one of my friends/co-workers/bosses has had a few rx7's and he was telling me a could build a turbo setup by buying all the parts and it would be way cheaper then a name brand kit. he started looking and estimated i could get everything(except EMS).. pipping, the turbo(t3 t4), boost controller, bov, intercooler...etc
this sounds like the greatest thing to me since sliced bread if its true :P i mean, 1grand for parts and 1 grand for tuning/extra expenses would still only put me at 2 grand which is insanely cheap for a turbo build... however it sounds to good to be true.. could this be possible? is a custom build this cheap? do name brands mark it up THAT much?
these are insanely noobish questions, i know... but like i said my turbo knowledge is oh so tiny.. i've never really studied it.
thanks in advance!
however one of my friends/co-workers/bosses has had a few rx7's and he was telling me a could build a turbo setup by buying all the parts and it would be way cheaper then a name brand kit. he started looking and estimated i could get everything(except EMS).. pipping, the turbo(t3 t4), boost controller, bov, intercooler...etc
this sounds like the greatest thing to me since sliced bread if its true :P i mean, 1grand for parts and 1 grand for tuning/extra expenses would still only put me at 2 grand which is insanely cheap for a turbo build... however it sounds to good to be true.. could this be possible? is a custom build this cheap? do name brands mark it up THAT much?
these are insanely noobish questions, i know... but like i said my turbo knowledge is oh so tiny.. i've never really studied it.
thanks in advance!
#2
if everything goes perfectly you may be able to hit close to that number x 2...but I wouldn't count on that with turbo builds/installations
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Last edited by 05rex8; 01-19-2009 at 10:19 PM.
#3
a good turbo is going to be 1k alone. boost controller? $350. bov? $200. wastegate $300. wideband? $250. vacuum hoses? a dozen couplers at $15-25 a pop. T-bands at $10-20 a pop. How about a quality intercooler? Now you can start calculating the cost of the piping/fab work. Then you can get to the turbo manifold... accessport is $700. How about larger fuel injectors? w/m cooling? The list is endless.
If you can do the work yourself, sure, you can get it done pretty cheaply. But 1k for parts sounds optimistic unless you want bare bones and don't care if your car blows up.
If you can do the work yourself, sure, you can get it done pretty cheaply. But 1k for parts sounds optimistic unless you want bare bones and don't care if your car blows up.
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you'll need to consider fabrication for an exhaust manifold, piping formed to fit, things like bracings and hangers for stuff like the pipes and intercooler. if your friend can make an exhaust manifold then you should be good to go, though it still wont be as cheap as your thinking
the only place to get manifolds or piping that i know of is from an existing turbo kit
the only place to get manifolds or piping that i know of is from an existing turbo kit
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im thinking he's full of **** lol. i never agreed with him on it being that cheap, but i thought i would ask for other opinions before just telling him how wrong he is without having evidence
#7
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The thing that will make a custom turbo build expensive is the fabrication. If one can do his own fabrication he could duplicate many of the kits on the market for a fraction of the price.
As far as turbo pricing goes, go BW.. better than Garrett and cheaper. Keep looking around for deals and find you a bov and a wg for around 125-150 each MAX. Scoop up a WB for around $200 etc etc... The price will jump once you add in the management system however.
So pretty much summing it up, if you haev the raw material and the know how/ tools, you can get away with maybe 3K. Anything less is a stretch or else you must be a fortunate man..
As far as turbo pricing goes, go BW.. better than Garrett and cheaper. Keep looking around for deals and find you a bov and a wg for around 125-150 each MAX. Scoop up a WB for around $200 etc etc... The price will jump once you add in the management system however.
So pretty much summing it up, if you haev the raw material and the know how/ tools, you can get away with maybe 3K. Anything less is a stretch or else you must be a fortunate man..
Last edited by T-ReX-8; 01-19-2009 at 10:57 PM.
#8
the problem for most custom turbo setups is finding a manifold that works with everything else. Your options are pretty limited right now. On rx-7's that is not the case, as there are a ton of good products and knockoffs to choose from.
#10
even if you do your own fabrication the time spent is expensive. you really have to have a love for it to dedicate the time to building a kit.
there isn't enough individual parts available yet to buy bits and put them together. so you would be looking for secondhand bits from other kits and would still need to modify them to work together or do loads of custom fabrication.
unless you can do 99% of the fabrication yourself, buy a kit and and have fun tweaking it.
there isn't enough individual parts available yet to buy bits and put them together. so you would be looking for secondhand bits from other kits and would still need to modify them to work together or do loads of custom fabrication.
unless you can do 99% of the fabrication yourself, buy a kit and and have fun tweaking it.
#11
I've been going back and forth thinking about selling my Rx-8.
If I sell it, I will be selling the top mount mazsport kit I have been assembling.
All the parts are brand new. This includes:
mazsport turbo manifold (ceramic coated)
44mm tial external wastegate https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...&postcount=392
T67 turbo (ceramic coated) https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...&postcount=307
Several of the turbo pipes (ceramic coated)
mazsport engine mounts
large bar and plate intercooler https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...0&d=1229812893
vacuum hoses
To make it a complete kit, you would need to buy some oil lines, coolant lines, misc bolts, and you would need about 6 pipes fabricated to link the components together. The difficult parts to make (manifold) are all here, so it's relatively minor to make the remaining items. I spoke to Bodley Racing in Largo, and in Dec 2008 they quoted me $500 to make the missing pipes. Bodley as you may already know, is the company Mazsport contracted out the actual work to. They're the ones who made the piping for the mazsport kits. Unfortunately they would need your car to fit the piping. So if you're in the Tampa area, they can finish it, or you could get the work done locally.
If anyone is seriously interested, PM me... I can snap photos of all the components.
If I sell it, I will be selling the top mount mazsport kit I have been assembling.
All the parts are brand new. This includes:
mazsport turbo manifold (ceramic coated)
44mm tial external wastegate https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...&postcount=392
T67 turbo (ceramic coated) https://www.rx8club.com/showpost.php...&postcount=307
Several of the turbo pipes (ceramic coated)
mazsport engine mounts
large bar and plate intercooler https://www.rx8club.com/attachment.p...0&d=1229812893
vacuum hoses
To make it a complete kit, you would need to buy some oil lines, coolant lines, misc bolts, and you would need about 6 pipes fabricated to link the components together. The difficult parts to make (manifold) are all here, so it's relatively minor to make the remaining items. I spoke to Bodley Racing in Largo, and in Dec 2008 they quoted me $500 to make the missing pipes. Bodley as you may already know, is the company Mazsport contracted out the actual work to. They're the ones who made the piping for the mazsport kits. Unfortunately they would need your car to fit the piping. So if you're in the Tampa area, they can finish it, or you could get the work done locally.
If anyone is seriously interested, PM me... I can snap photos of all the components.
#13
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damn, i would be seriously interested however i have no money at this point. my turbo plans are for about a year in the future. sorry to hear you might sell you 8! hope you change your mind
#21
#23
the first one really didn't have issues. I actually have my old housings, so I can pretty much destroy my current engine, and just have to buy new seals + labor to get going again.